In his best-selling book “Physics of the Future,” American professor Michio Kaku lays out his vision for the world in 2100. Kaku, the son of Japanese immigrants, spoke to SPIEGEL about a future in which toilets will have health monitoring sensors and contact lenses will be connected to the Internet. SPIEGEL: Professor Kaku, in your […]
Tag Archives | technology
A Future of Self-Surveillance? Tech Pioneers Track Bodily Functions Day and Night
Using smartphone apps and sensors, high tech pioneers are monitoring their own bodily functions such as heart rates, sleep patterns and blood. The ‘self trackers’ dream of a digitalized medicine that will enable people to lead healthier lives by getting around-the-clock updates on what goes on inside their bodies By Philip Bethge Larry Smarr’s large intestine appears to float […]
Lear Jets of the Deep: Private Submarines Gain Popularity with Millionaires
A new class of private submarines has become the latest plaything for the super rich. They allow would-be adventurers to navigate the wonders of the coral reefs, explore shipwrecks or even to cruise alongside dolphins. The cheapest models start at $1.7 million, but prices can go as high as $80 million – by Philip Bethge Just recently, […]
The Stench of Money: Canada’s Environment Succumbs to Oil Sands
Canada is home to the world’s third largest oil reserves. But extracting the black gold is difficult, and threatens to destroy both the surrounding environment and the homeland of native tribes. With protests growing against a planned US pipeline, the oil sands controversy threatens to spread south. Celina Harpe holds up the map like an indictment. […]
Oil sands activist Melina Laboucan-Massimo: ‘What you do to the land you do to yourself’
Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Climate campaigner with Greenpeace Canada and member of the Cree First Nation, on oil sands operations in northern Alberta, threats to her homeland, and the planned Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Houston, Texas. Q: US-president Barack Obama has to decide before the end of the year if TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline can […]
Oozing Biofuel: Algae Could Solve World’s Fuel Crisis
Genetically modified blue and green algae could be the answer to the world’s fuel problems. Bioengineers have already developed algae that produce ethanol, oil and even diesel — and the only things the organisms need are sunlight, CO2 and seawater. Biochemist Dan Robertson’s living gas stations have the dark-green shimmer of oak leaves and are […]
Jonathan Schell: ‘Our Illusion Is that We Can Control Nuclear Energy’
In a SPIEGEL interview, peace activist and author Jonathan Schell discusses the lessons of the Fukushima disaster, mankind’s false impression that it can somehow safely produce electricity from the atom, and why he thinks the partial meltdown in Japan could mark a turning point for the world. SPIEGEL: Mr. Schell, what unsettled you the most […]
Japan’s Chernobyl: Fukushima Marks the End of the Nuclear Era
Japan was still reeling from its largest recorded earthquake when an explosion struck the Fukushima nuclear plant on Saturday, followed by a second blast on Monday. Despite government assurances, there are fears of another Chernobyl. The incident has sparked a heated political debate in Germany and looks likely to end the dream of cheap and safe […]